The Prairie Farmer Vol 56 No 1 January 5 1884

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1884., by Various

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Title: Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 1, January 5, 1884.
A Weekly Journal for the Farm, Orchard and Fireside

Author: Various

Release Date: January 14, 2006 [EBook #17512]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRAIRIE FARMER ***

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ESTABLISHED IN 1841.
ENTIRE SERIES: VOL. 56—No. 1.
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1884.
PRICE, $2.00 PER YEAR, IN ADVANCE.

[Transcriber's Note: Some pages in the original had the corner torn off. Missing text has been marked [***].]

[Transcriber's Note: The Table of Contents was originally located on page 8 of the periodical. It has been moved here for
ease of use.]

THE CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER.

Agriculture—Tall Meadow Oat-Grass, Page 1; The Barbed-Wire Business, 1-2; A Rambler's Letter, 2; Let Us Be Sociable,
2; Seed Corn Again, 2; Field and Furrow, 3.

Live Stock—Mr. Grinnell's Letter, Page 4; Prices of 1883, 4; Docking Horses, 4; Items, 4.

The Dairy—Lessons in Finance for the Creamery Patron, Page 5.

Veterinary—Fever, Page 5.

Horticulture—Ill. Hort. Society, Page 6; A Short Sermon on a Long Text, 6; Prunings, 6-7.

Floriculture—Gleanings by an Old Florist, Page 7; Am I a Scot or am I Not, Poetry, 7; Primitive Northwest, 7.

Editorial—Items, 8; Seed Samples, 8; The Pork Question in Europe, 8; Corn, Wheat, and Cotton, 8; Chicago in 1883, 9;
Strong Drink, 9; Questions and Answers, 9; Wayside Notes, 9; Champaign Letter, 9.

Poultry Notes—Chat With Correspondents, Page 10; Feather Ends, 10.

The Apiary—Keep Bees, Page 10; The New Bees, 10; Hive and Honey Hints, 10.

[Pg 1]

Silk Culture—Women In Silk Culture, Page 11.

Household—The Schoolmarm's Story, Poem, Page 12; A Chat About the Fashions, 12; A Kitchen Silo, 12; Items, 12.

Young Folks—Talk about the Lion, Page 13; A Jack-knife Genius, 13; Little Johnny, 13.

Book Notices—Page 13.

Literature—Robin, Dear Robin, Poetry, Page 14; Mrs. Wimbush's Revenge, 14.

Humorous—The Carpenter's Wooing, Poetry, Page 15; Where the Old Maids Come From, 15; Items, 15.

News of the Week—Page 16.

Markets—Page 16.

Tall Meadow Oat-Grass.

Prof. John W. Robson, State Botanist of Kansas, sends The Prairie Farmer an extract from his last report, concerning a tame
grass for hay and pasturing which is new to that State. The grass has been on trial on an upland farm for two years, during
which time he has watched it very closely. The Professor says, "It possesses so many excellent qualities as to place it in the
front rank of all cultivated grasses." He enumerates from his notes:

1st. The seed will germinate and grow as easily as common oats. 2d. It maintains a deep green color all seasons of the year.
3d. Its roots descend deeply into the subsoil, enabling this grass to withstand a protracted drouth. 4th. Its early growth in
spring makes it equal to rye for pasturage. 5th. In the next year after sowing it is ready to cut for hay, the middle of May—not
merely woody stems, but composed in a large measure of a mass of long blades of foliage. The crop of hay can be cut and
cured, and stowed away in stack or barn, long before winter wheat harvest begins. 6th. It grows quickly after mowing, giving
a denser and more succulent aftermath than any of the present popular tame grasses.

For several years, he says, we have been looking for a grass that would supply good grazing to our cattle and sheep after the
native grasses have become dry and tasteless. In the early portion of 1881, his attention was called to a tame grass which had
been introduced into the State of Michigan from West Virginia. This forage plant was causing some excitement among the
farmers in the neighborhood of Battle Creek. So he entered into a correspondence with a friend living there, and obtained ten
pounds of seed for trial. The result has been satisfactory in every respect. The seed was sown April 1, 1881. It germinated
quickly, and the young plants grew vigorously. During the whole summer they exhibited a deep-green color, and did not
become brown, like blue-grass, orchard grass, or timothy. As soon as the spring of 1882 opened, growth set in rapidly, and
continued till the latter end of May, at which period it stood from three to four feet high. At this time it was ready for the
mower; but as the production of seed was the object in view, it was not cut till the second week in June. The plot of ground of
about half an acre, on which ten pounds of seed were sown, produced three barrels of seed.

He exhibited a little sheaf of this grass at the semi-annual meeting of the Kansas State Horticultural Society, where it excited
much attention—the height, softness of the stem, length of blade, and sweet aroma surprised every one present.

On the last day of August, he went into the plot with a sickle, and cut two handfuls of aftermath which measured twenty inches
in growth. This he tied to a sheaf of the June cutting, and exhibited the same at the State Fair, where it attracted much attention
and comment.

Here, then, we have, he continues, a grass that will insure a "good catch" if the seed is fresh; that can endure severe drouth;
that produces an abundant supply of foliage; that is valuable for pasture in early spring, on account of its early and luxuriant
growth; that makes a valuable hay; that shoots up quickly after being cut; and affords a fine crop of aftermath for grazing
during the late fall and winter months.

The Professor is very anxious that the farmers of Kansas should test this grass during the season of 1883. Still, his advice is
not to invest too largely in the experiment. Purchase from five to ten pounds of seed, and give it a fair trial, and he is confident
that the experiment will be satisfactory.

The name given to this valuable grass in the State of Michigan is "Evergreen," but this is only a local synonym. Its scientific
name is Avena elatior; its common name, "Tall Meadow Oat-grass." Fearing that he might be mistaken in its nomenclature, he
sent a specimen to Professor Carruth, State Botanist. This is his reply:

"Mr. J.W. Robson—Dear Sir: Yours mailed on the 22d, I received last evening. I do not get my mail every
day. The specimen of grass you sent agrees perfectly with the Avena elatior, of Wood, and the
Arrenatherrum avenaceum, of Gray; but I have never seen this grass before. I agree with you in the
scientific name, and also in the common name, 'Tall Meadow Oat-grass.'

Yours truly, J.H. Carruth."

The ground should be plowed in the fall, and early in the spring, as soon as the soil is in good tilth; sow broadcast two bushels
(or twenty-eight pounds) of seed to the acre; cover well with the harrow, both lengthways and across the piece of ground
sown. Should the ground prove weedy, cut the weeds down with the mowing machine in June, and leave them upon the
surface, and they will afford shade to the young plants.

This grass is extensively grown in Eastern Tennessee, and is very popular in that portion of the State. In some portions of
Western Virginia it is largely grown for hay and for grass. It is known as tall meadow oat-grass in each of the States we have
mentioned above.

The main building for the New Orleans Cotton Centennial Exposition next year will be 1,500 feet long and 900 feet wide, with
1,000,398 square feet of floor space, including Music Hall in the center, with a seating capacity of 12,000 persons. The design
also provides for main offices, telegraph office, newspaper department, fire department, police, hospital, waiting-rooms, and
life saving apparatus. The building will be the largest exposition building ever erected, except the one in London in 1862. The
design adopted was the work of G.M. Jorgenson, of Meridian, Mississippi. There were ten competitors.

JOSEPH F. GLIDDEN.

The Barb-Wire Industry—Some Facts in its Early History not Generally Known—Its Growth.

Joseph Farwell Glidden, "the Father of the Barb-Wire Business" of this country, is now a hale and hearty man of seventy-one.
He was born at Charleston, N.H. When about one year old the family came West, to Clarendon, Orleans county, New York,
and engaged in farming. The young lad, besides mastering the usual branches taught in the common schools, gave some time to
the higher mathematics and Latin, intending to take a college course, an idea that he finally abandoned. He taught in the district
schools for a few terms. In 1842 he came to Illinois and purchased a quarter section of land a mile west of what is now the site
of the pleasant and prosperous town of DeKalb. With the exception of three years his life since then has been passed upon
this farm and at DeKalb. He has from time to time added to his homestead, his farm now embracing 800 acres. His land is
under excellent cultivation, a considerable portion of it having been thoroughly tiled, and his farm buildings are first-class. Mr.
Glidden has been twice married. Two children were born of the first union, both dying in infancy. By his second marriage he
has one daughter, now the wife of a Chicago merchant.

JOSEPH FARWELL GLIDDEN.

Mr. Glidden has held several local offices of trust and honor and enjoys in a marked degree the esteem and confidence of the
citizens of his neighborhood and county. The rapid accumulation of property of late years, through his barb-wire patents and
business, gave him the means to gratify his feelings of public spirit, and in consequence the town of DeKalb has benefited
greatly at his hands. Its leading hotel and many other buildings are the work of his enterprise. Mr. Glidden has never lost the
simple manners of the farm. He is unostentatious, quiet, genial, and at his hotel makes everybody feel as much at home as
though enjoying the hospitalities of his private house. His kindly, firm, and intelligent face is well shown in the accompanying
portrait, though, as is usually the case, the hand of the artist has touched his features more lightly than has the hand of time.

Few names are now more widely known among the land holders of the country than that of Joseph F. Glidden, the
unpretending gentleman whose life we have briefly sketched. It was his fortune to seize upon an idea, and push it to
development, which has not only given him fame and fortune, but which has enriched many others and saved many millions of
dollars to the farmers of America. He has not only founded a mammoth industry, but he has revolutionized an economic
system of the world. By his ingenuity and perseverance the fencing system of a pastoral continent has been reduced to a

minimum of expense and simplicity. Not that he individually has accomplished all this, but as the patentee of the first really
successful barb-wire fence, he laid the solid foundation for it all.

The first application for a patent for the Glidden barb was filed October 27, 1873. For some weeks previous to this date Mr.
Glidden had had in his mind the idea of a barb of wire twisted about the main wire of the fence, leaving two projecting points
on opposite sides. He made some of these by hand with the aid of pinchers and hammer. He strung two wires between two
trees and twisted them together with a stick placed between them. A pair of cutting nippers was the next addition to his "kit" of
tools. His next means for twisting the two wires together was the grindstone—attaching one end of the wire to shaft and crank,
the others being fastened to the wall of the barn. And here, as in most things great and small in this world, woman furnished the
motor power. The strong arm of the good helpmeet, Mrs. Glidden, turned the grindstone that twisted the first wire that made
the first Glidden barb fence that kept stock at bay in Illinois or the world. Then followed a device for twisting and barbing, and
the application of horse power. Business expanded, and steam took the place of the horse, and inventive genius modified and
improved the entire machinery, it being estimated that at least the sum of $1,000,000 has been expended in bringing the
machinery for barb-wire making to its present state of perfection.

At about the same time that Mr. Glidden was wrestling with his ideas and devices, Mr. I.L. Ellwood was experimenting to
accomplish a like result with a thin band of metal, the barbs cut and curved outward from the strip. In the meantime Mr.
Glidden had put up a few rods of his hand-made barb-wire along the roadside at his farm. And here again the good genius of
woman enters upon the scene. One Sunday Mr. Ellwood and his wife were driving along this road and attracted by the wire
fence stopped to examine it. Mrs. Ellwood, much to the chagrin of her husband, remarked: "This seems to me a better device
than your own, don't it to you?" It did not then, for the remark disappointed and angered him. But it set him to thinking and
before the next morning he was of the same opinion. The two men meeting the next day it did not take long to compromise
and unite. Mr. Ellwood dropped his own plans and accepted a half interest in the Glidden patents, and assumed the
management of the business end of the concern, in which position he developed ability and tact possessed by few business
men in this country.

The barb-wire fence met an unexpected and general demand. We know of few things like it in the history of manufactures.
From this small beginning, scarce ten years ago more than fifty large establishments are now turning out this wire to meet an
ever insatiate demand. The establishment of I.L. Ellwood (making the Glidden wire) at DeKalb is the most complete and
extensive of them all. The building is 800 feet in length, and is supplied with about 200 machines for twisting and barbing the
wire. It gives, when running full force, employment to about 400 men, and turns out a car-load of wire each hour for ten hours
per day, on an average, though this amount is considerably increased at certain times of the year. These figures, though not
given us by Mr. Ellwood, we are satisfied do not overstate the production of this one factory. The progress of the barb-wire
industry of the whole country is shown by the following record of the past nine seasons. In

1874 there were 10,000 lb made and sold.
1875 there were 600,000 lb made and sold.
1876 there were 2,840,000 lb made and sold.
1877 there were 12,863,000 lb made and sold.
1878 there were 26,655,000 lb made and sold.
1879 there were 50,337,000 lb made and sold.
1880 there were 80,500,000 lb made and sold.
1881 there were 120,000,000 lb made and sold.
1882 there were about 180,000,000 lb.

The record for 1883 is not yet made up, but will probably show a corresponding increase.

In 1876 Mr. Glidden disposed of his half interest in the concern of Glidden & Ellwood to the Washburn & Moen (wire)
Manufacturing Company, of Massachusetts, receiving therefor $60,000 in cash and a royalty on the future goods
manufactured, Mr. Ellwood retaining his interest. The new concern began the purchase of prior unused and conflicting patents
involving itself in extensive litigation, but, sustained by the courts, soon gained control of almost the entire barb-wire business
of the country. Nearly all wire-making companies are now running under license from the parent concern. The following is a
list of the licensees of last year:

Pittsburg Hinge Co.—Limited, Beaver Falls, Pa.
H.B. Scutt & Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
Hawkeye Steel Barb Fence Co., Burlington, Iowa.
James Ayers and Alexander C. Decker, Bushnell, Ill.
Indiana Wire Fence Co., Crawfordsville, Ind.
Cedar Rapids Barb Wire Co., Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Cincinnati Barbed Wire Fence Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cleveland Barb Fence Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
Ohio Steel Barb Fence Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

[Pg 2]

Edwin A. Beers & Co., Chicago, Ill.
Crandal Manufacturing Co., Chicago, Ill.
Chicago Galvanized Wire Fence Co., Chicago, Ill.
Lyman Manufacturing Co., Chicago, Ill.
Daniel S. Marsh, Chicago, Ill.
Oscar F. Moore, Chicago, Ill.
National Wire Co., Chicago, Ill.
Herman E. Schnabel, Chicago, Ill.
Aaron K. Stiles and John W. Calkins, Chicago, Ill.
Thorn Wire Hedge Co., Chicago, Ill.
Baker Manufacturing Co., Des Moines, Iowa.
Superior Barbed Wire Co., DeKalb, Ill.
Jacob Haish, DeKalb, Ill.
Frentress Barbed Wire Fence Co., East Dubuque, Ill.
Grinnell Manufacturing Co., Grinnell, Iowa.
Janesville Barb Wire Co., Janesville, Wis.
Iowa Barb Wire Co., Johnstown, Pa.
William J. Adam, Joliet, Ill.
Lock Stitch Fence Co., Joliet, Ill.
Lambert & Bishop Wire Fence Co., Joliet, Ill.
Alfred Van Fleet & A.H. Shreffler, Joliet, Ill.
David G. Wells, Joliet, Ill.
Southwestern Barb Wire Co., Lawrence, Kan.
Arthur H. Dale, Leland, Ill.
Union Barb Wire Co., Lee, Ill.
Lockport Wire Fence Co., Lockport, Ill.
Norton & DeWitt, Lockport, Ill.
Iowa Barb Steel Wire Fence Co., Marshaltown, Iowa.
Omaha Barb Wire Co., Omaha, Neb.
H.B. Scutt & Co.—Limited, Pittsburg, Pa.
Missouri Wire Fence Co., St. Louis, Mo.
St. Louis Wire Fence Co., St. Louis, Mo.
J.H. Lawrence & Co., Sterling, Ill.
North Western Barb Wire Co., Sterling, Ill.
Novelty Manufacturing Co., Sterling, Ill.
Sandwich Enterprise Co., Sandwich, Ill.
Robinson & Hallidie, San Francisco, Cal.
The Hazard Manufacturing Co., Wilkes Barre, Pa.
Worcester Barb Fence Co., Worcester, Mass.

When Glidden & Ellwood first began the sale of the Glidden fence, which was confined to the vicinity of DeKalb, they
received 25 cents per pound for the barbed wire. Since then, as production has increased and the facilities for manufacturing
have been multiplied and perfected, the price has gradually dropped, until now a farm can be well fenced for forty-five cents,
or less, per rod, and to the incalculable advantage of the country over fencing by posts and boards, hedges or rails, as any one
may see by a simple dollar and cent comparison of materials at his own door.

Barb-wire has done much for the city of DeKalb. It has built its fine business blocks and residences, and it has peopled it with
industrious, thrifty citizens. It has made a home market for many of the products of the country 'round about. It should give a
new name, "Barb City," to the bustling, busy town. There are three concerns now making barb-wire at this point. The one
spoken of is the largest. Next is that of Jacob Haish, an extensive establishment, turning out an excellent wire, and the
Superior, run by Mr. Hiram Ellwood, Mr. Glidden having a considerable interest in it.

Mr. I.L. Ellwood is the owner of some 2,600 acres of land in the vicinity of DeKalb. Much of this land is naturally low and
wet. The proprietor, with his accustomed energy and intelligence, has set vigorously to work to reclaim it. To this end he has
already laid eighty miles of tile. He last year expended nearly $15,000 in this work. His poorest land is rapidly becoming his
most productive. Mr. Ellwood has also turned his attention somewhat to horse-breeding, and he is now the owner of a fine
stud of draft-horses, the equal of many better-known establishments of the kind in the State. Of his drainage operations we
hope to speak more in detail in a future number.

Mr. Glidden told the writer that his first trial of his fence with stock was not undertaken without some misgivings. But he
thought to himself, "It will stop them, at any rate, whether it kills them or not." So he took down an old board fence from one
side of his barn-yard, and towards night when his stock came up, turned them into the yard as usual. The first animal to
investigate the almost invisible barrier to freedom was a strong, heavy grade Durham cow. She walked along beside the wires
for a little put her nose out and touched a barb, withdrew it and took a walk around the yard, approached the wires again and
gave the barbs a lap with her tongue. This settled the matter, and she retired, convinced that the new-fangled fence was a
success.

Barb-wire is now sent from this country to Mexico, South America, and Australia. It is also being manufactured in England
under American auspices.

Mr. Glidden, associating with himself a Mr. Sanborn, a young man of push and enterprise, has opened up an extensive cattle
ranch in Potter and Randall counties, Texas. They have fenced with wire a tract thirty miles long by about fifteen miles broad,
and have now upon it 14,000 head of cattle. Two twisted No. 11 wires were used for this fence, and the posts are the best
that could be procured. The wire was taken 200 miles on wagons. The total cost of the completed fence was about $36,000.

Messrs. Glidden & Ellwood put up the first barb-wire ever used by a railway company—the Northwestern. So great was the
caution of the company that the manufacturers built it themselves, agreeing to remove it if it proved unsatisfactory. The railway
folks feared it would injure stock, the damages for which they would be forced to pay. It is needless to say that the fence was
not removed. More than one hundred railway companies are now using the Glidden wire, and it stretches along many
thousands of miles of track.

A Rambler's Letter.

I would like to call your attention to the fact that there is considerable cholera among swine in Dewey township, Ill., west from
Joliet. Mr. Cooter lost about 130 hogs. Other farmers have suffered equally.

I have been looking over the stock in this part of the country and find it excellent, as a general thing. Many of the farmers are
breeders of fine Hereford cattle. They also own first-class horses. Some of them whom I called upon would like to know the
address of State Veterinary Surgeon Dr. Paaren, and I should be pleased if you will give it in The Prairie Farmer.[A] I have
often thought, Why is it that so many sons of wealthy farmers leave their homes for the purpose of either studying in some
classical college, to learn a trade, or to become book-keepers and clerks in mercantile business. I think if farmers would take
more interest in agricultural papers, instead of having their children fooling away their time on novels or comic stories and
pictures, it would be better for both old and young. Let the parents buy a microscope and let the young folks examine insects
and fungi of all kinds, and let them write their experiences down in a book whenever there is leisure time. Or let them write to
The Prairie Farmer something in the line of farming, be it agriculture, horticulture, or about raising and caring for stock. In so
doing the boys of our farming country will become proud of their noble profession and of their homes. They will gradually be,
as every farmer should be, educated up to the times. There are few farmers who can afford to let their sons study in an
agricultural university, but every one can surely afford to subscribe for an agricultural paper, it being one of the most profitable
investments for himself and family.

The ground is covered with snow to a small extent, and the roads are in a fine condition. The crops are all good here except
corn, which is very poor indeed, even the crop in most cases is small. Farmers are not at all satisfied, and times are not at all
encouraging.

H.A.P. Weissberger.
Will Co., Ill.

355 Western Avenue (south), Chicago.

A Farmer's Library.

As this is the season to make up our list of papers and magazines for the ensuing year, I will take a glance around my own
cosy room set apart for a library.

It is here that I do the most of my reading, writing, and planning; and although I pretend to be deeply engaged while ensconced
in the large willow rocker, strictly forbidding entrance to my farmer office, yet the children and "Spot," my Gordon setter, will
intrude, making things lively for awhile, driving my thoughts wool-gathering and breaking many a thread of thought that I had
fondly hoped would place my name high on the roll of scribblers. It is a good thing to have the little innocent children and the

[A]

dog to blame for these shortcomings, as they can not take issue with us on the question.

But I started to talk about a farmer's library; and taking my own for a small sample, let us see how it looks.

For the purpose of keeping my papers in order, I have prepared thin laths of tough wood dressed with the draw knife to a thin
edge, the back being one fourth of an inch thick, leaving the lath one and a quarter inch broad; these are cut in lengths to suit
the paper they are intended to hold. Take for instance The Prairie Farmer. I cut the lath just two inches longer than the paper
is long, then cut notches half of an inch from each end, in which I tie the ends of a cord; this forms a loop to hang up the file. In
this I file each paper so soon as read, by which means they are never lost or mislaid. When at the end of each three months the
papers are taken from off the file, the oldest number is laid face down on a broad piece of plank and the number that follows
laid face down on the top of the first, then they are squared evenly and a strong awl pierces three holes in the back edge
through which a strong twine string is laced and tied firmly; this finishes the job, and the book thus simply and quickly made is
placed on the shelf with its mates. This done the file is returned to its hook to await the next number.

This is a simple plan for filing papers of any size, and any farmer can do it, there being no expense or outlay for material. On
glancing up from the stand on which I am writing, the first objects that attract my notice are my breach loader, cartridge belt,
and game-bag hanging on the wall; then by the side of the stove hangs the file of The Prairie Farmer, within easy reach of my
left hand; next it swings the Country Gentleman, then comes the Forest and Stream, then Colman's Rural World, then the
Drainage Journal; next Harper's Weekly, then Harper's Bazar. This is my wife's paper and she persists in hanging it among
mine. Then comes Harper's Monthly and the Century, not forgetting the Sanitary Journal. On the other side of the room we
find the Inter Ocean, Democrat, and several other political papers fairly representing both sides, also some standard books of
valuable information; and last but not least, the Prairie Farmer Map which you sent for my club.

Now, this may be considered a pretty large outlay for a common farmer to make, but outside of life insurance, I consider it my
best investment.

In this selection I get the cream of all matters of practical importance to the farmer. From The Prairie Farmer I get the latest
and most reliable information of the great central ruling markets of the West Chicago, which has saved me sundry times from
three to five cents per bushel on wheat, sometimes paying the price of the paper twenty times over in one transaction. From
the C.G. I get the Eastern markets, while Colman gives the St. Louis; and by a close study of the three a farmer can always
make enough to pay for twenty or thirty dollars worth of good current literature for the use of his family. Then the F. and S. is
always full of delightful reading for the boys, refining their cruel propensities, and teaching them to be kind to the feathered
tribe which are the farmer's friends. By reading it they soon lay aside their traps, nets, and snares, with which they capture
whole covies of the dear little Bob-whites, and disdain to touch a feather, only when on the wing, and then with their light,
hammerless breach loader. Such reading as that ties the farmer's boys to country life, and makes them contented under the
parental roof-tree until they are ready to build up homes of their own. The Journal tells them all about tile making and drainage,
a very necessary accomplishment when they get their own homestead.

The pictures in H.W. furnish a fountain of amusement for the little folks, and teach them—with a little help—many things that
will be useful to them in life. As a matter of course the "Bezar" is for mother
and the girls, and [***]
consultations [***]
before the fair, a [***]
daughters, your [***]
good when she insisted [***]
be put on the list.

A boy or a girl with [***]
the Century in their hands, [***]
room, with a bright clear lamp [***]
has no thought of city life, or [***]
In those bright pages the [***]
outer world painted in all its various [***]
so interesting and so fascinating [***]
have no desire to see it in reality; in [***]
they bring the brightest and best thought, [***]
historic, and romantic to our hearth and home; furnishing food for the youthful minds, leaving no room for evil or discontented
thoughts to enter. Then I say to every farmer who has children, get the magazines for them, they will save you a mountain of
trouble.

Then to balance things have one or two spicy news papers, which picture in horrid colors the blackest side of human life. This
is necessary to guard the young against the riff-raff of humanity, such as tramps, sharpers, sewing machine and book agents,
the lightning rod man, and a dozen other sharp swindlers that prey on the farmer and his family for an existence. The Sanitary
Journal treats of health, purity, and cleanliness, and ought to be read and studied by all. Ah, I had almost forgotten The Prairie
Farmer Map which hangs by the door. What can I say about it? that it is a handsome ornament for a living room or library?
yes, but that is not all, it is useful. When it arrived I took it to the railroad office and compared it with the best map they had,
also with a map made by the U.S. land office. I came away satisfied that it was reliable; it ought to be in the home of every
farmer in this great country of ours, so that their children can learn and know what a grand heritage they have got. There is no
excuse for being without it, as a few pounds of butter or dozens of eggs will procure it and a paper that will gladden the hearts
of both old and young.

Alex Ross.

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Let Us Be Sociable.

A happy new year to all of the readers of The Prairie Farmer, and may your labors of 1884 be crowned with success. Mr.
Granger, what are you doing these long winter evenings? Can't you find time to write a few lines to the readers of The Prairie
Farmer? You can send a little report from your county, at least. Come, let us be a little more sociable and talk more to each
other through the columns of our paper. We can learn something by reading each other's views on different subjects. In my
next I shall try and tell some of the careless fellows how to run a farm to make it pay. If I fail to give a little light on the subject
perhaps some one else will try it. We are having what you might call winter, now. Snow is about six inches deep, but the
weather is not very cold. The thermometer has not been below zero but once. Nearly all of the corn is gathered; only about
one-third of the crop is sound enough to keep until next summer. Farmers are feeding their soft corn to hogs and cattle. In that
way the soft corn will pay pretty well after all, for fat stock brings a good price. Stock cattle are wintering well, for feed in the
fields is good, and most farmers have got plenty of good hay. The weather was so nice the first part of this month that the
farmers did a large amount of plowing. Potatoes are plenty and cheap; worth from 30 to 40 cents. Apples are scarce, and
good ones bring a big price. Butter is worth from 25 to 30 cents.

S.O.A.
Knox Co., Ill.

Seed Corn Again.

There has been much complaint of soft corn in this section on account of planting foreign seed last spring, but it is all solid since
the late cold spell.

Those who planted seed of their own raising and got a stand have fair corn, while much of that which was raised from Kansas
and Nebraska seed was caught by the frost when in the milk. Now we will be in just the same "fix" about seed next spring that
we were last. This county has lost thousands of dollars this year in the corn crop alone, all of which might have been avoided
by going through the fields before freezing weather and selecting seed and properly drying it before it froze.

And now right here I want to say that the great secret of good farming is simply being punctual in attending to the small
matters, and I "guess" Fanny Field would say the same about poultry.

Z.L. Thompson.
Iroquois Co., Ill.

REMEMBER that $2.00 pays for The Prairie Farmer from this date to January 1, 1885; For $2.00 you get it for one
year and a copy of The Prairie Farmer County Map of the United States, free! This is the most liberal offer ever made by
any first-class weekly agricultural paper in this country.

Field and Furrow.

Says the Iowa Register: One hundred bushels of corn will shrink to ninety in the crib, and to an extent more than that,
depending on the openness of the crib and the honesty of the neighbors.

The agricultural editor of the New York Times says that no doubt many farmers who are intending to underdrain their farms
would save money by employing an expert at the first to lay out the whole system and make a good beginning, and so avoid
any possible mistake, which might cost ten dollars for every one paid for skilled advice.

The New York Times says that lime seems to be a preventive of rot in potatoes in the cellar. Some potatoes that were rotting
and were picked out of a heap of forty or fifty bushels were put into a corner and well dusted with air-slaked lime. They
stopped rotting at once, and the decayed parts are now dried up. There is no disagreeable smell about them.

Cincinnati Gazette: It is remarked that when young hogs are fed mainly on corn they stop growing at an early age and begin to
grow fat; but that green food makes them thriftier and larger than dry grain. In fact, it is better to prevent all domestic animals
from becoming very fat until they have attained a fair natural size, particularly breeding animals.

A member of the Elmira Farmers' Club recently expressed the opinion that bad results would always be found with wheat
sown on land into which the green growth of any crop had just been turned, although it was believed that buckwheat was the
worst green manure. All green growth incorporated with the soil near the time of seeding will in all cases be found prejudicial
to wheat.

[Pg 3]

It is announced that Robert Clarke, of Cincinnati will have ready, in February, an extensive work on sorghum, containing the
results of the latest experiments and experience of the most successful growers, as to the best varieties and their culture, and
also the details of the latest and best machinery used in the economical manufacture of sirups and sugars therefrom. The work
is by Prof. Peter Collier, whose name is a guarantee of the value of the book. It will be very fully illustrated.

A Michigan man writes the Michigan Farmer: I have noticed tarred twine and willows recommended for binding corn stalks. I
think I can propose a better substitute than either for those who are using a twine binder: save the strings from straw stacks
this winter. They are less trouble than grass and never slip. Tie a knot in the end of the twine with your knee on the bundle,
then slip the other end through in the form of a bow, take off your knee and the spring of the bundle will draw the knot tight.
Pull the bow and use again.

"Human labor," says Dr. Zellner, of Ashville, Ala., "is the most costly factor that enters into the production of cotton, and
every consistent means should be adopted to dispense with it." And then the doctor, who has the reputation of having raised
some of the finest samples ever grown in the South, describes how, by planting at proper distances, in checks five by three
apart, one-half of the after labor of cultivating may be saved. About the same amount of plow work is said to be necessary,
but not more than one-fourth as much work with the hoe as is required by cotton in drills.

Prof. J.W. Sanborn: "Deep tillage in times of drought of surface-rooted crops, like corn, is an erroneous practice, founded on
erroneous views. 'Plowing out corn' not only involves too deep tillage in drought but adds to the mischief by severing the roots
of corn, needed at such times. Our double-shovel plows work too deeply. Our true policy, in drought, for corn is frequent and
shallow tillage. For this we now have after the corn gets beyond the smoothing harrow, no suitable implement on our markets,
with a possible exception."

Correspondent New York Tribune: Of the use of oatmeal for cows mention is not often made in this country; but when
spoken of it is always with praise. That it is better than corn meal there can be no doubt; it is richer in both albuminoids and
fat; and the usefulness of these two nutriments, and especially the former, for making milk is shown not only by the results of
numerous careful experiments, but by the acknowledged usefulness of oil-cake meal. Where this meal is used freely there
would be less use for oatmeal; but under some circumstances it might be advantageously substituted for the bran in the favorite
mixture for cows of Indian meal and bran.

The following paragraph appears in an English cotemporary: The introduction of a new industry connected with farming into
Ireland will be hailed by everybody, and therefore we rejoice to learn that a company has been formed with the design of
purchasing or renting nearly a million and a quarter acres of land in Ireland, and devoting them to beet culture, from which the
sugar will be extracted in a manufactory erected on the land. The promoters of the new company expect that from the
120,000 acres which they propose cultivating they will produce 400,000 tons of sugar in the year. Immense quantities of sugar
extracted from the beet-root are manufactured on the continent and imported into these countries, and there is no reason
whatever why Ireland should not have her finger in the sugar pie.

In a paper before the Oxford (Ohio) Farmers' Club, on the subject "The Morality of the System of Grain Gambling," Mr.
Wetmore said: There is a difference between speculation and investment. Putting money into an established industry is an
investment. Putting it into a doubtful or untried business, with the hope of gaining much or risk of losing all, is speculation. The
latter is infatuating as it increases the risk and yet turns to profit. Investments pay no high per cents. Speculations may pay
much or lose all. Hence it is unsafe; and the farmer who makes his gains only by a yearly turn of his crops, should not try
speculation, but may judiciously invest his surplus year by year in things of real value, as land or chattels. Invest the last dollar,
but speculate only with loose change. No man can safely invest in a business with which he is not familiar.

A lawful wire fence in Georgia is described by legislative enactment as composed of not less than six horizontal strands of
barbed wire tightly stretched from post to post. The first wire no more than four and a half nor less than three and a half inches
from the ground; the second wire not more than nine and a half nor less than eight and a half inches from the ground; the third
wire not more than fifteen and a half nor less than fourteen and a half inches from the ground; the fourth wire not more than
twenty-two and a half nor less than twenty-one and a half inches from the ground; the fifth wire not more than thirty-two nor
less than thirty-one inches from the ground; the sixth wire not over fifty-five nor less than fifty-three inches from the ground.
Posts to be not over ten feet apart, and every alternate post to be securely set in the ground. Provided, a plank not less than
ten inches wide shall be used instead of two strands of wire at bottom of fence, it is also required that a railing shall be placed
at equal distance between the two top wires, which shall answer the same purpose as a wire, and to extend from post to post
in like manner.

Correspondent Country Gentleman: I notice that your journal recently gave currency to the "saltpetre method" of extracting
stumps, and W.H. White also recommends it in your columns. His method is to bore a hole in the stump in the fall of the year,
fill in the hole with saltpetre, plug up till the following summer, then fill the hole with kerosene and fire the stump. It is alleged
that the saltpetre and kerosene will so saturate the stump that it will be entirely consumed, roots and all. This recipe has been
floating around the press for years. It is usually credited to the Scientific American, but that paper has several times denied its
paternity. The uselessness of the process can easily be learned by trial. There are few more inflammable substances than pitch
and turpentine. The roots of pine stumps are saturated with these, but it is impossible to burn them out. The addition of
saltpetre would not help much. Yet there are seasons when the soil and air are so dry that hard wood stumps may be burned
out without either saltpetre or kerosene. We had such a year in 1881, when corn and clover standing uncut in the field were
burned. In some instances the curbing was burned out of wells during terrible forest fires that raged in Michigan. If tried in such
a season the recipe would undoubtedly be successful. In any ordinary season it is "no good."

No matter how wretched a man may be, he is still a member of our common species, and if he possesses any of the common

GREAT SAVING FOR FARMERS.

THE Lightning Hay Knife!

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FARM MACHINERY, Etc.

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CHICAGO SCALE CO.

2 TON WAGON SCALE, $40. 3 TON, $50.

4 Ton $60, Beam Box Included.

240 lb. FARMER'S SCALE, $5.

The "Little Detective," 1/4 oz. to 25 lb. $3.

300 OTHER SIZES. Reduced PRICE LIST FREE.

FORGES, TOOLS, &c.

BEST FORGE MADE FOR LIGHT WORK, $10,

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FIVE-TON

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FARM IMPLEMENTS, Etc.

THE CHICAGO

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Send for descriptive circular with prices, to
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ENGINES, SAW MILLS, THRESHERS, HORSE POWERS,

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MISCELLANEOUS.

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We desire to make the circulation of our paper 250,000 during the next six months. To accomplish which we will give
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The second question is, IS THE PAPER A DESIRABLE FAMILY JOURNAL? YES.
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THE HOME COMPANION.

N.W. Cor. Fourth and Race Streets, Cincinnati, O.

Don't fail to name the paper in which you see this advertisement.

REMEMBER that $2.00 pays for The Prairie Farmer from this date to January 1, 1884; $2.00 pays for it from this date
to January 1, 1885. For $2.00 you get it for one year and a copy of The Prairie Farmer County Map of the United
States, free! This is the most liberal offer ever made by any first-class weekly agricultural paper in this country.

Mr. Grinnell's Letter.

Last week we briefly noted the fact that Hon. J.B. Grinnell, of Iowa, Secretary of the Committee of the National Cattle-
Growers' Convention, appointed to secure legislation for the protection of live stock from contagious diseases, had issued a
circular letter to the public. In this letter he discusses with his usual intelligence and ability the important question in hand. As it
will form the basis of Congressional discussion and prove an impo...